


Carpe Diem

by DanyDamn



Series: A Jack of All Trades [3]
Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Age Difference, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Female Protagonist, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Lemon, NSFW, Oral Sex, Porn, Porn With Plot, Probably Both, Reader-Insert, Smut, Vaginal Sex, counting on the plot being captivating but idk, reader - Freeform, reupload cuz im picking it up again, trying even harder this time hope you guys enjoy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-04-04 01:07:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14008857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DanyDamn/pseuds/DanyDamn
Summary: When things seem like they'll stay as they are, new developments throw everything out of the loop. Something as subtle as a phone call could stir the balance so precariously one's notion of relations is just a slip away from being destroyed completely.The both of you want to get laid but Jack is a busy man, so through some fortunate events with equally unfortunate outcomes, things spiral out of control. It's terrifying and possibly erotic, but perseverance is a name the both of you swear by.And one would suppose it doesn't hurt discovering a few new sentiments along the way.(Reupload + New context)





	1. When the office was a good place to be

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you confused this is a re-upload of the older version, which was only one chapter. I picked it up again, and after a year of hiatus I'm doing a bit of a makeover on the plot. Hopefully this one will stick, enjoy.

Fucking Handsome Jack was always an exciting experience, you could never deny that. Nor could you look past it, a feat constantly nipping at your heels that never seemed to regard what the situation counted for. It was a full-time job with many-a surprises, and the kind you had quite eagerly taken the offering of. Well. Perhaps ‘offering’ wasn’t the proper term use when it came to the strapping executive.

No, whenever Jack wanted to try something new, it was never really a matter of mutual agreement. He did as he pleased, and honestly, it came across that you didn’t mind quite all that much. If anything, you expected that sort of behavior. He was, after all, the infamous Handsome Jack. If ever he caught you off guard at your office with a pencil in hand— let’s just say that was one hell of a time for a pencil to be anywhere other than in between your fingers.

This of course, was no exception. Straddling the CEO of Hyperion in the famous saffron yellow chair of his office at Helios, you had to appreciate the novelty of it all. There had been times where the both of you had considered taking your sexual interests into Jack’s workplace, but distractions of the ironically perilous kind always seemed to prevent any proximity you had hoped to achieve at the pinnacle of the enterprise.

Of course, that never stopped you from finding other places to attempt your dirty deeds. The thought of the office remained filed away and stayed a hopeless dream pinned to the end of your thoughts until either of you could figure out a way to get away with it.

So, when you had fortunately found Jack alone in his office once with the decision of a spontaneous visit, it came as no question that the both of you would throw yourselves at each other. By now it was a natural happening, instinct one would consider, that whenever you had found yourselves in the exclusion of company, there was one thing and one thing only on your minds. Finding yourselves at his office was just the cherry on top of the— fornication.

It didn’t escape either of you, however, that this encounter would be hanging on a thread, it being an active work day and all. Going about your extracurricular business the both of you kept yourselves prepared for any disruptions. Jack was, after all, a busy man, so even though you both hoped to get off in the most excitingly discreet way possible, the situation called for a constant on-edge attitude that seemed to put a bit of a damper on the mood. 

But you were going to have none of that.

“Mmm, cupcake, you taste nice.” Jack mumbled against the skin of your neck, his tongue accentuating his words with a surprisingly provocative brush. “You wearing that new soap I bought you?”

Of course you were, he didn’t need to ask to know that. The likely reason he bought it was just for this, to comment on it later when he got close enough to notice that you _had_ worn it and trill over the fact. You suspected he found pleasure thinking how you appreciated his gifts by putting them to use.

“Used it just this morning.” You replied, rocking your hips to the surprisingly gentle urge of his rough hands on your ass.

Between the two of you you could already feel the erection he sported beneath his pants, a tent built from share effort. Handsome Jack’s arousal rode on a hairline trigger. One flash of anything remotely provocative on your end and he was ready to go. But it wasn’t like he couldn’t control himself, no, he actually _wanted_ to be horny all the time. It was a kind of mentality he liked to call “constant availability,” availability being his eagerness and willingness for a good fuck whenever and wherever he could possibly find it. Well, at least that’s how it was with you, as far as you understood. Whether he kept up this mentality with other women from the workplace was of no worry to you, nor any of your business, it wasn’t like he belonged to you in any sense of the word. But then again, as regular as any woman in this environment, even the likes of you was vulnerable to falling victim to unfortunate and unintentional possessiveness. 

Still, even though you hated yourself for thinking in such childish and backwards ways, you mildly hoped he was keeping his interests fixed on you, and, only you. What more could a girl do with the most desirable dictator in the galaxy?

Jack was quite the cut-throat authoritative, but you liked to consider yourself a fierce commodity. You weren’t obsessed with him but you certainly weren’t aloof enough to let him go around and do whatever he wanted with whomever he wanted. While you were with him you wanted to make sure he kept his sights on _you_.

Which, naturally, you began to worry the length of. It had been awhile since the both of you had met and began this scandalous affair, so it was possible that the balance of Jack’s interest was waning. Any minute now he could grow bored of you and drop you so fast you’d think you were one of those vault hunters he hated so much.

It was no question that by now you were getting and enjoying everything you could with him. Whether his interest was truly declining or not, his involvement in sexual activity _certainly_ wasn’t, the way he deliciously jerked his hips into you at the moment a testament to that notion. So, for now all you could do was enjoy him.

 

 _And_ his dick.

“Sweet Jesus,” The man with the silver streak in his hair growled, nipping at your collarbone as you expertly rolled yourself into the bulge between his legs. “Don’t ever let me go another few hours without this ever again.”

You giggled at what you perceived to be a demand, one you were happy to accommodate for, your fingers combing through his dark chestnut hair, purposefully deviating it from its gelled swoop across the left side of his face. “Wouldn’t dream of it, _Jack_.”

The way you had drawled his name posed a reaction you were glad to see happen. Jack laughed darkly, almost a cackle, short but enough to let a flutter disrupt your insides as he leaned forward in his chair, his arms wrapping tightly around your waist. His lips attacked your neck, nipping, sucking and occasionally biting when you felt the edge of his desk press against your lower back, arching so the connection at your lower torsos was easier to maneuver in. Jack dipped his head, his mouth travelling past your collarbone and to the regions beneath the unbuttoned blouse he had earlier taken care of.

You rolled your head back, eyes closing at the sight of the ceiling, biting your lip subtly as you continued to meet the gentle jerk of his hips to yours. Your lips had parted, releasing a string of small moans as he pushed back your unbuttoned blazer, the fabric of your blouse pulled away to reveal your breasts. Jack’s mouth had encased a nipple before you’d realized, instantly pebbling the sensitive flesh with a quick suckle, rolling the bud on his tongue and between his lips. When you felt it fall between his teeth you flipped your head up, a sharp pain as well as an oddly arousing sensation coursing through you when he bit down.

“Careful with the goods there, Mr. Hyperion.” You warned mildly, not as upset over the matter as you figured you would be. It seemed, that being with such an experimentalist in the sexual arts as Handsome Jack, you’d begun to learn the many ways of what one person could do to another in bed. And even though it was more you the experimentalist as Jack had likely done all of this before, you couldn’t say that everything you both tried had exactly been tried before. So, with this door unlocked, you suddenly found yourself enjoying things you never knew you could enjoy.

Like, for instance, the way Jack was nibbling on your nipple with his teeth, there was something about it that didn’t let you decide you didn’t like it.

Jack’s eyes cracked open and flickered mischievously up to yours, a smile curling at the corners of his mouth, releasing your mildly aching teat. “I like the way you say that. Say it again.”

Your own playful face came across your features, devious as your bodies stilled momentarily. Drawing a lip into your teeth you leaned forward, tilting your lover’s sharp chin to kiss the side of his jaw, tongue traveling along his cheekbone where you nibbled at the shell of his ear. “ _Mr. Hyperion_ …” You drawled, fingers wound tightly into the chestnut hair at the back of his head, rocking your hips roughly once.

“Christ kitten…” Jack muttered, voice raw and filled with what you perceived as desire. You loved the way he sounded when he was aroused, so dark and fine, like an expensive wine, the kind he liked to drink after killing spree evenings. “Keep doing that and you’ll send me flying over the edge."

You kissed his temple, unable to suppress a small tug at the corners of your lips. True power lay in the woman who could control a dictator like Handsome Jack with just the stroke of her hips. And damn if you didn’t feel powerful as all _hell_ making him groan like that.

Amidst your thoughts, the man in question began to move, clutching you to his lap as he scooched down his chair, standing up so he could set you down onto the desk in front of him. You wrapped your legs around his waist, hands in his hair lowering his head to allow you to plant a long, heated kiss on his lips. Jack returned this kiss fervently, almost eagerly, leaning forward to pin you against the desk with his upper torso. He pushed forward with his hips, and now with something to support you from behind you fully felt the bulge between his legs pressing into your core in a delicious way.

For a moment a scandalous thought came to your mind about how you’d feel with two Jacks to hold you from either side, same builds and bulges and all. If any of his doubles were around you’d likely find out as you doubted the original would have any objection to such an act. In fact, knowing Handsome Jack, something told you he’d already tried such a thing before. You briefly considered bringing it up.

But that was for another time. 

You suppressed from making any sound by biting your bottom lip, the hot kiss broken as Jack moved his lips to travel down your neck. This gesture seemed to be a regular occurrence between the two of you. Grinding by itself was always a given, coal to feed the fire that was growing inside the both of you, but this was something he actively chose to do, every time. Between all the foreplay and the actual down and dirty, Jack was quite fond of simply holding you and letting his lips write a paragraph of unspoken words onto your skin. More often it was at your neck, marks he’d make as if a warning to other, predatory males, but he would occasionally travel to other regions such as your chest, shoulders and one time your stomach. It was as if he was content with only tasting you, kissing you and your skin forever.

Until, of course, his arousal deemed it necessary to take over and he would move on to less romantic gestures.

Not that you were complaining. For both parts of him, either. While it was rare to see such a soft spot on such a hard man(literally), his actions that depended on his moods were quite refreshing. One moment of romantic doing was soon balanced out by the roughness and passion that followed. It was his way of keeping things fair when the both of you got together, a little routine he had in keeping you satisfied. And, oh, how you loved it. Sometimes you were a tender, delicate creature in the care of a gentle beast, and other times you a were a goddess worshipped by the most devoted follower. All other men you had lain with (although it wasn’t that much to begin with) could never come close to such a time with Handsome Jack, and it was this that you cherished him for, among other things. He made you feel in a way you would never be able to replicate with anyone else.

Arching your back as his mouth traveled back down your chest, you eyed him as he took another nipple between his lips, sucking gently like an infant in need of nurturing. His hips rocked into you at a steady pace, stoking the fire of your core into an increasingly heated blaze that was soon to envelope your entire body if it hadn’t already. Soon enough the both of you would grow tired of beating around the bush and get straight down to why you had begun this in the first place.

For now, however, pure content lay in simply holding each other and moving your bodies in an aroused tandem.

Until, of course, the comm on Jack’s desk began to buzz.

An instant tension of annoyance and frustration choked the air, the both of you stilling and groaning inwardly at the sound that had disrupted your oddly focused acts of sensualism.

Well, there goes the mood.

Jack was the first to make a sound, a deep grumble rolling from his chest and off his tongue as he lifted himself from you and leaned over to the comm. Pressing a button, it took all his willpower not to open the channel rain fire down upon his secretary. 

Instead, he took a breath and calmly said. “Yes? The fuck you want?”

If only he knew how hard it was to ignore those angry undertones. If you hadn’t been so keen on not pissing him off further, you would have laughed. 

But you just couldn’t let his secretary know that you were in that room.

“Sir,” Came an edged female voice on the other side of the comm, “You’ve got a call waiting for you on the holo-line.”

Jack practically growled at her. “Well tell them I’m busy!”

“It’s the President from Dahl Corporations, sir. He says it’s pretty urgent.”

You frowned, meeting heterochromatic eyes. A question passed between your shared gaze but Jack just shook his head. There was no way, the both of you had been too careful. 

You could tell it was taking all his willpower not to tear the comm from his desk and shatter it against the wall. He looked back down at you, the frustration evident in his deeply set brows, and for a moment you could see the slightest hint of an apology, but that was fleeting. Smiling, you offered a shrug. After all, the both of you had been used to this sort of thing, technically prepared for it.

Especially since it involved his office.

Jack sighed, pushing himself off the table, bringing his hands up to smooth ruffled locks of dark hair back into a more dignified style. You sat up on the desk, pushing yourself off and landing soundless on your heels to you readjusted your blouse and worked the buttons back up. Jack’s eyes flickered to yours as he fixed his own blazer, then he glanced back at the comm.

“Okay, jus—“

“Transferring the call now, sir.”

A sudden sense of urgency passed through the blue and green eyes of your lover as the platform for the holo-line began to crackle to life. He swiveled to you in almost slow motion, taking you a full moment to realize what he was doing before his hand came to the top of your head and forced your body to the floor just as a figure on the line emerged. You slammed down onto your knees, head just below the opening of the desk and out of view as Jack’s hand slid to the edge to fake a casual leaning posture. 

The joints of your legs aching from the sudden impact, it took all your self-control not to stand back up and sock him in his handsome face.

Oh, he would pay for that.

“Juliiiee, how nice of you to call!” Jack trilled, his voice a mixture of a cheery _‘hey dipshit it’s nice to see you again’_ and a furious _‘the fuck you doing calling me right now ya shithead.’_ If you weren’t so angry with his earlier actions, you would have been stuck trying to figure out which was funnier.

“Ah, Jack, glad to have caught you. Please, don’t call me that, you know it’s Julian. Sit, we have much to discuss.” The President of Dahl Industries was much older than Jack and it showed in his voice. In your head you briefly envisioned the wrinkled but dapper grandfather-like figure with smoothed white hair and a pressed, grey suite.

Jack moved backwards, plopping himself into his saffron-yellow chair. “This better not be about Jakobs and their sissy-ass protocol again. You know I can’t allow you to bear that kind of firearm, I have to deal with that shit too, you know.”

You were clearly in his line of sight the way he sat, and as expected, he very briefly glanced down at you. You gave him the coldest glare you could possibly muster, promising something short of death in the near future.

Or, perhaps right now.

Glancing back in front of you Jack sat with his legs naturally outspread, unintentionally showing off the tent he still sported between his legs. Your eyes grew dark, a sly smile stretching across your face as an idea formed in your head. Oh, karma was going to be one, _sexy_ bitch.

“No, no, nothing like that,” You heard Julian assure. “I actually called about the offer Maliwan is putting forward to other manufacturers. The CEO himself reached out to me in a desperate attempt at a corporate merge. Seems they’re going down.”

“Maliwan is going out of business? No fucking way.” Jack said with a short, shrill laugh, leaning forward and blocking you from his sight.

Perfect.

“I’m as surprised as you are. I just got off the line with Torgue, who told me even Atlas has been contacted.”

“And? What do they have to say about it?”

“Who knows? So far nobody has responded to the offer. They’re all trying to figure out if Maliwan’s assets are worth it.”

By now you weren’t properly paying attention to the conversation, keeping an ear out for certain subjects but maintain focus on another matter. Your attention was directed almost entirely at Jack, biting your lip at the thought of sweet, sweet revenge as you waited patiently for the perfect time to strike.

You had to take into consideration that there was a possibility Julian would see you, unsure exactly how far the range of the holo went. If anything, on his end all he’d be seeing was Jack’s upper torso, but you couldn’t be sure of that. Not to mention how Jack would react if you did what you were planning to. He’d either resist and smack you away or lean back and enjoy it. Even if he didn’t want anyone to know that he and you were in such affairs, somehow you felt you knew him enough that the latter would be his choice of behavior.

Still, you were doing this to make him squirm, and hoped the latter wasn’t his current mood.

“Not that I care or would ever agree, but if Maliwan’s going down, why did they let everyone know but me? Why’re you the guy coming to me with this?

“I didn’t ask about you specifically, but listing the other manufactures to Chadwell, there was undeniably tension present at the mention of Hyperion. Have you done anything to them recently to scare them from asking you to merge?”

Just as Julian’s words left his cybernetic-altered hologram, you leaned forward, a hand grasping the bulge between Jack’s legs. It was a hairline reaction that followed, his legs jerking and his body tensing so quickly you swore you heard the breath escaped his lungs. With a wicked grin you palmed the hard flesh through his pants, feeling the muscles of his legs stiffening and relaxing in an attempt to accommodate for your disruption of peace.

You could just imagine the face he was making, as well as the confusion JuliAn would find himself with at the sight of Jack’s odd reaction and frozen posture.

When Jack said nothing the older male spoke up. “Jack, is everything alright? Is the line not working?”

“Yeah,” The heterochromatic stuttered faintly, trying his hardest to relax his shoulders, a fist pumping his chest as he cleared his throat loudly to mask the momentary weakness in his voice. “I mean no, everything’s all good, there was just a stall on your end, repeat the question.”

You liked this bit about him, the way his voice portrayed a nervous man, as if he was in an interview for the first time with some big, corporate executive. It made him seem vulnerable, almost—normal.

For some reason that demeanor turned you on a little.

“I said, have you done anything to Maliwan lately that may have caused them to be a little scared of you?” 

You bit your lip as both your hands worked at Jack’s bulge, fingers squeezing around the hardened flesh through his jeans, eyeing his belt buckle scandalously.

“Nothing.. that I can recall,” Jack began, hardly regaining the strength of his voice. Glancing up you could just barely see how he was struggling to keep a contemplative look on his face.

“I mean, there might’ve been times I threatened to burn their company to the freakin’ ground if they tried anything stupid, but I think that’s about it.”

Sensing he’d focused on growing used to the sensations, you decided to take things a bit further. Quickly your hands fumbled with the buckle and zipper, an excited energy flowing through your fingers as the nature of what you were doing took over. You were elated (but not at all surprised) to find that Jack wasn’t wearing anything underneath, his raging erection springing forward like a Jack-in-the-box (something you giggled at inwardly at its joke-wise perfection), almost as if had been so ready for this moment.

Jack couldn’t have been expecting this, and it almost made you squirm with delight at the thought of what it was doing to him. But you suspected that at this point he began to assume where everything was going the way you let your hands stroke his entire length. You noted the subtle jerk of his hips when you did so.

“Really, Jack? Threatening to burn down Maliwan?” The dapper man on the line iterated with a chuckle. “I honestly don’t know why I’m surprised.”

Jack sounded like he was stalling again, clearly trying to suppress a much-needed moan as you stroked the beast between his legs. “Yeah, well, that’s what they get for pulling that bullshit with the negotiations years back.”

You swore you could see several beads of sweat at his forehead from where you were sitting.

He cleared his throat again. “Anyways, I hope that’s all ya got for me Julie. I’m a very busy man and I have a _lot_ to get back to.”

You couldn’t help but feel like his emphasis was directed at you.

“I told you to stop calling me that. I did have a few more things on the agenda that I wanted to discuss but we can leave that for another time.”

Oh no, that wouldn’t do. He couldn’t end the call just yet, you needed more time to carry out the torture. But, against your wishes, the universe seemed to be. Leaning forward quickly you thumbed over Jack’s head before pressing your lips against the velvety tip.

“You do that, Julie. I’m just gonna—“

“Oh but one last thing, Jack.”

Beside you Jack’s knee was bouncing impatiently, obstructing your torture, but only just slightly. You could almost hear the cries of frustration he hid behind his eyes.

“What is it?” Jack asked angrily, hoping to dissuade the opposing executive as your tongue brushed against his shaft.

“I know you said you didn’t want anything to do with Jakobs’ new regulation, but would it be possible if—“

Opening your mouth you pushed the head of his cock into your mouth and slid down, down, down…

“For the love of _god_ I already told you to fuck off with that!”

With a loud smack you heard the holo-line platform crackle out of commission. It wasn’t a single moment that passed before Jack’s hands reached down and roughly grasped your shoulders. You pulled away from his phallus just as he lifted you from the floor, pushing you back against the desk.

“That was a dirty trick you pulled back there sweetheart.” Jack said darkly, almost threateningly. He had a look on his face that exposed both his pleasure and displeasure from your actions.

You shrugged, crossing your arms and staring defiantly at him. “You deserved it after what you did to me when Julian called.”

“I couldn’t let the bastard _see_ you, you know that!”

“I do but that doesn’t give you the right to knock me to the ground like that. You hurt my knees!”

“Not like you were helping them out the way you were trying to screw up my call!”

A smile stretched across your lips as you finally saw the humor in the argument. “No, I guess I wasn’t. But, Jack, come on,” You said, shrugging off his hands and pressing up against him, wayward hand winding around his stiff member again, smile morphing into a pout. “You left me so unsatisfied back there…”

You stretched your neck, planting a set of kisses against his jawline as your hand slowly stroked his length.

Jack’s hands were at your arms again as he pulled you back, pressing you down onto the desk and leaning on top of you. A sly grin spread across his face as multicolored eyes bore into opposing ones.

“You want satisfaction?” He said, his voice somehow darker than before. “I’ll show you _satisfaction_.”


	2. When the memories come

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You spend a restless night in thoughts

The sad fact about Handsome Jack promising you things was that he almost never kept them. 

At least, not the ones that really counted.

Sometimes, when the two of you were locked in intimate embrace he made off-handed promises about disallowing you the ability to walk from his actions, but those were a given in the first place. 

But as for the promise he made the night before, one about leaving you totally satisfied at the office, however, was one he couldn’t keep.

Because it was his office. 

Another disruption, one made more personal by Jack’s secretary practically banging down his doors to bother him with, left you once again alienated and open-ended beneath his desk until the matter was resolved. At that point you didn’t care what it was that had you continuously hiding your physical being from, the mood was officially dead and all you wanted to do was head home and kick your feet back for the rest of the day. Jack wouldn’t mind, clearly he was too busy to pay you any attention anyways.

Finally done with his business you fixed yourself up and offered a quick goodbye before leaving your lover standing somewhat disappointed at your swift exit. You didn’t very much like seeing him that way but knew it wouldn’t last and he’d forget about rather quickly, returning to his duties and being same old Handsome Jack again. Lately the two of you hadn’t found purchase in any sexual deviancy due to this sort of thing, so all your get-togethers had the same result: you left, and he finished himself off. 

That night you lay somewhat restless beneath the covers of your bed. It wasn’t a type of trouble that involved dissatisfaction of the carnal type, no, _that_ you’d grown used to. This time it had been that odd phone call about Maliwan. 

Julian calling was what surprised you the most. Why was he the one who felt the need to let Jack know about the situation? He did say that he’d just gotten off the phone with Torgue, which meant he’d either planned to call Hyperion after that or something along the earlier call had him deciding for the next. 

You hoped that’s all it was, just a simple decision to do a simple thing in any regular predicament that involved the collective manufacturing companies.

You didn’t know what you’d do if Julian had done it knowing about you and Jack. 

When you’d envision him before, the dapper old man that he liked to present himself as, your head played a game with you, painting him out to look disappointed and disapproving, as if he was telling you your actions were wrong and harmful. That your fraternization with Handsome Jack would not go unpunished for everybody involved. 

You hated that feeling, to disappoint someone.

You hated even more the feeling of disappointing someone who was yet to be disappointed. 

Restlessness reaching a peak you flung your covers from your body and sat up to reach across your nightstand for your Echo device, punching in the number and waiting for the call. 

“Sweetheart, how good to hear from you.”

Of course, he’d be at the office, he was always at the office. 

“Hi dad,” You said with a groggy voice that almost exposed your troubled thoughts. “How’s your evening going?”

“Things are currently moving a little slow but we’re about to receive the first shipment of the week and that might be delayed since the weather’s picking up. And I’ve also got some planning to do for the celebration next week, so I’ll likely end up sleeping on my couch here for the night.”

You frowned a little. Sometimes you worried about your father and his habits of overworking himself. “But why are you the one supervising, where’s Grandpa?” 

“Oh, you’re Grandfather’s all caught up with this business with Maliwan. Had a bit of a brainstorm about the merge and what he can do with it, so he asked me to overlook the first receivings.”

“Brainstorm? You mean he’s considering accepting?”

There was a shrug in his voice. “Don’t quite know, wouldn’t tell me anything. Although he did mention something about Hyperion and how great it’d be if Handsome Jack accepted his own offer about a split. Your Grandfather has his eyes set on a few of Chadwell’s assets and I’ve heard Jack’s wanted the recipe to their corrosive guns for years, so it sounds like a win-win.”

“He wants to split Maliwan? That’s strange... has he actually made that offer yet?”

“I don’t think so, but he did call him today about the whole ordeal. Apparently Chadwell’s reached out to everyone but Hyperion about the merge so your Grandfather thought it’d be funny if he mentioned this to Jack. According to him he had some interesting reactions to the news.”

You, of course, already knew this, having been the cause of those reactions as you sat beneath his desk during the call. 

“Anyways, I just got the notification that the shipment came in. Talk about great timing, but I should wrap this up. Was there… any particular reason you wanted to call this late, my dear? Because I have a feeling you had more on your mind than business.”

You gulped a little and shifted in your bed as if to shake away the lies. “No, I just wanted to see how you were doing and tell you goodnight. I’m about to head back to bed.”

“Oh, alright then, Goodnight sweetheart and sleep well. Meanwhile the President of Dahl has given me a very important task and I, the VP, shall not disappoint my father!” 

You rolled your eyes. Sometimes it surprised you how much of a strange fellow your old man was, but he was loveable. “Have a good night dad. We still on for lunch tomorrow?”

“Every Tuesday like clockwork.” He confirmed. “Oh, and don’t forget about your fitting in the morning. You’re going to be the belle of the ball next week. VP Lathan awaayyy!”

With a click the Echo call was closed and you fell back against the cushions of your bed in a huff. Well that was a lot to take in. You wondered if the split merge was the rest of the agenda your Grandfather wanted to mention to Jack, but you couldn’t be sure. Between that and all the other things you knew Julian wanted to talk with the President of Hyperion about, you couldn’t be certain of anything. They’d been corporate partners for so long that any affair which dared come up was given note to one another. 

That was the part that always had you on edge. The fact that your Grandfather was actually quite close to Jack. Or, at least, in the business sense. Julian never actually wanted anything to do with Handsome Jack in any other shape or form. He knew the kind of man he was and did all he could to keep off his destructive path unless it involved their companies.

Which was why you and Jack decided to keep your relationship a secret. For you it was to keep that disappointment you envisioned from his face knowing he did almost everything he could to steer you clear from the man you were with, and for him because he valued their corporate closeness. There was something to be lost for both of you, so the smartest choice was to keep your intimacy under wraps. 

Not to mention how destructive the result of his knowledge would be, nothing short of a war because of Jack’s murderous tendencies and Julian’s quick taking to hard grudges. It would be a very messy situation. 

You shuddered picturing what you could only imagine as carnage but pushed it away. No, that wasn’t going to happen. As long as you and Jack kept everything under the radar things would be fine.

But then again, if you and Jack weren’t like this in the first place then there’d be no risk whatsoever, but at this point there was nothing you could do about it. You were too involved. 

Lying back down on your bed, disturbed blanket pulled back over your body, you were suddenly met with the memory of you and Jack meeting for the first time. You wondered if there was anything you could have done back then to avoid everything that had brought you here and searched your thoughts about that night Hyperion was hosting an annual Gala and invited representatives from all the companies to attend.

Your father and your Grandfather came for Dahl, and you were brought along as a ploy to expose you to a social even that would likely begin to train you in preparation for the business you’d one day take over from the men. You knew exactly what was happening but played along due to a curiosity for the famous Hyperion Gala with its expensive and lavish style of celebration. You weren’t exactly sure what the Gala was for but didn’t mind at all it’s existence. 

After all, it was what brought you to meet Jack in the first place.

‘My dear, go along and meet the competition. Seduce them with that lovely charm of yours and tell me every secret that spills from their lips.’ You remembered your Grandfather say, holding your hand and smiling the smile that made his crow’s feet deepen. 

A roll of your eyes told you caught on to his joke. ‘Grandpa you know I’m not going to do that, how many times do I have to tell you I’m not made for espionage.’

‘Oh, but you are, my darling, you’re built just like your Grandmother when she was your age. Strong, beautiful, a tongue sharp enough to cut down any executive. You dig deep inside yourself and you’ll find my dear Mercy guiding you to be as great as she was in the field.'

You remembered that look in his eye, the kind you’d see in a film that had someone look beyond what was in front of them and into another place in time. While the two of you were standing in the middle of an enormous crowd and lavish room, he was alone with a spirit, dancing his heart away to strings. 

With a pat of his hands on yours your Grandfather turned away and disappeared into the crowd, leaving you alone with Lathan, your father, who just approached with a few flutes of champagne. 

‘Where’s he off to?’ He asked, offering you a glass which you graciously took.

You side-eyed his direction with a small shrug. ‘Not sure, perhaps a balcony to lament.’

‘Ah, he got that little thing in his eye again, didn't he.’ 

‘Pretty much. This time he seemed sad. Don’t get much sad moments anymore.’

‘Sad, happy, angry, they all come and go, just like his mood. Anyways, that mean his iron grip isn’t so grip-y right now. We got some time on our hands, let’s go and mingle.’

You made a face. ‘I mean, I want to, but I’m feeling a little left out over here. Everybody’s some hotshot business person and I’m just… the tag-along that doesn’t know anybody.’

‘Oh, come on sweetheart, why don’t you live a little? You’ve worked hard to get where you are, just like everybody else in this room. They’re no different from you, perhaps just as insecure, too.’

‘I still don’t feel like I belong. Besides, I know how much you want to see Dolores. It’s been, what, weeks since you last spoke? Don’t let me spoil your reunion just because you want me to get familiar with the crowd.’

Your father stretched a soft, sad smile, something that didn’t often grace his features due to a rather rambunctious personality. It made you feel guilty for being so dismissive of your own feelings, but you knew you were right. The sole reason your father had even accepted the invitation from Handsome Jack was because he knew a woman he’d gotten close with from another company would be attending as well. You were well aware of the fact, so no amount of persuasion would get you to steal away your father’s evening with the only person he’d found himself attracted to since your mother was cut away from the picture years ago. 

‘I’m serious dad, go and find her, you’ve been talking about it all morning.’

Leaning over Lathan puckered his lips and planted a kiss on your temple, tucking some hair behind your ear before pulling away. ‘You’re lucky I’ve got more pressing matters. But, at least try to make some friends, okay? You won’t get anywhere in this world without accomplices and this is the best place to start.”

Sending him off with a reassuring smile you watched as your father disappeared into a sea of people before downing the rest of your flute and turning to find what you hoped would be an open bar. To your delight your wish had been granted and you sat down to watch the party make way into the evening while in your hand was an endless supply of silly juice. 

Halfway into the night came a steady fuzziness of your vision, one that had made you grow a little more confident in making true the last thing your father asked you to do. Talk to people, how hard could that be, right? In your state it proved to be easier than expected, although in your state you wouldn’t have ever known if you were being rude or annoying. 

It was already very late, and you were already very drunk, by the time you met him, the older man who sounded and acted like he didn’t know his age. He’d approached you while you laughed alongside a group who’d matched your alcohol intake and the five of you spoke out of turn about things that probably weren’t appropriate for a respectable, social party. The loudest in the room, it wouldn’t have been a surprise you began to draw attention to yourselves, something you would have realized if you hadn’t been intoxicated, but, alas. 

He caught your eye when he was only halfway across the room, a sea of people parting almost biblically to make way for this stout male with a confident strut. The first thing you noticed was how his face didn’t match the rest of his body, specifically, two shades too light to be a part of him. That was also when you noticed the line across his forehead that separated these colors, as well as the little metal clasps in three different areas.

An educated, unintoxicated guess would told you it was a cosmetic mask, something shaped and molded for his face to cover his real one. Unfortunately for your state, however, there was nothing educated about the way you crooned over the fact that this man was damn good looking, even when he looked old enough to be your father. 

In fact, he might as well have been the same age.

When he finally made his way to your disruptive little group, you had taken noticed to how well he filled out his tux, a black and white number with a red bow tie, a classic. He had the body of the perfect specimen; broad shoulders, muscled arms, a narrow waist and some long, albeit thin, legs. And if you were standing behind him you were one-hundred percent sure you’d find one nice ass filling out those tight pants. 

‘You guys are being so noisy over here I figured I’d come over and see what all the fuss was about.’ He said with a voice that you hadn’t expected at all. Actually, you didn’t quite know what you expected, everything up to this point had been trying to figure out who the hell this man was and how you could possibly get his number. ‘What, nobody gonna let me know what’s causing all the hoots?’

He was looking at you now, and only then did you notice the fact the neither of his eyes matched. His left one, an electric blue, and his right one, a striking green, pierced into you as if having his own query about this person he didn’t know and trying to figure out why that was. It was quick that he glanced you up and down, something you didn’t find yourself objecting like you normally would as it made you blush slightly thinking he looked approving of what he saw. 

That night you were wearing something you hadn’t picked out for yourself for a change. Your father hired a fashion consultant specifically for the Gala, helping you to find a look that both made you look great and had you feeling comfortable. Your father didn’t want your confidence to be affected under pressure of what you wore while the consultant didn’t want you feeling sub par and regretful for putting on something that didn’t feel right and had you sore by the end of the night. 

The result of this mixed plan had you standing in front of this very attractive man in a long, slim navy dress that cinched your waist and made apparent that you had boobs in case anybody at the party had a hard time figuring that out. The dress fluttered elegantly around your legs with a long slit down your right one to touch the floor, where a pair of simple black heels clacked when you walked and made you feel empowered for some reason. You didn’t usually wear this much makeup but a simple smokey look brought out your eyes and made the perfect picture for the frame that was your hair, pulled up and pinned down, wispy but elegant. 

It was all these features that were sucked into the curious gaze of the mystery man before you. If you weren’t so inebriated you would have been somewhat uncomfortable for how long it took for him to tear his eyes away, having drunk in every inch of you and digested the information for reasons you weren’t quite sure of. But, alas, the alcohol’s influence had you grinning to yourself that his looks showed no signs of dislike, which meant he had to at least found you somewhat attractive. 

‘We were just talking about a story Jane here was telling us, Jane—’ You spoke up, turning to the girl you’d just earlier made friends with, but found she wasn’t there. In fact, nobody was there. In the time it took for you and the man to look each other down everybody had scattered off. 

You frowned, turning back to him with a shrug, taking a sip of your glass and realizing it was empty. ‘I guess they all had to go somewhere.’ 

The man, upon noticing your little problem, waved over a waiter and took two drinks from the platter. Offering you one you smiled and took it without question, now turning to face him fully while you began to sip another liquid that would send you deeper into the spiral of drunkenness. 

‘So, I haven’t seen you around one of these things before. You new or something?’

You nodded and swallowed, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand, not taking notice the quirk to his brow. ‘Yeah, pretty new. My father wanted me to become familiar with the social side of business, so he dragged me along. Although, I gotta say, people are kind of stiffs and the party itself is kind of boring.’

‘I guess you really are new.’ The man said with another brow, downing his drink and reaching for another one, the waiter from before still standing beside him with the platter.

‘I’m serious, except for the few people I was with that just barely got loose before they left, everybody here is intent on keeping to their own little groups and being quiet and painfully polite. The music is slow and dull as all hell and nobody’s even dancing to it.’

‘I don’t know what you expected, these things are always the same to appeal to some social rigmarole about politeness and respect.’

‘Well yeah but from what I hear about Handsome Jack’s parties they’re a lot more fun than—’ You paused to make some random gesture. ‘—whatever the heck is going on over here. It’s boring. And if it weren’t for the alcohol I would’ve been long gone already.’

‘I dunno,’ The man said, standing straighter to look the crowd around him before setting his eyes on you again. ‘I can think of another thing that made you stay.’

A look of skepticism crossed your eyes and twisted your lips, which had been painted a lovely shade of earthy pink. ‘Oh yeah, and what would that be?'

‘Me.’ He replied without batting an eye, taking a sip from his glass with a grin so confident you could have mistaken it for cocky. 

Once more you had to roll your eyes, surprised at the forwardness of this man you didn’t even know the name of. ‘Unfortunately for you there is a hole in your theory.’ 

‘It wasn’t a theory.’

‘I’ve been at this party for hours, I’ve only just met you. Which part of that makes sense.’

‘Fate doesn’t have to make sense, sweet cheeks.’ 

You barked a laugh. ‘And who are you to believe in fate?’

‘You’ve only just met me, ya gotta unlock level two for the answer to that one.’

The rest of the evening had gone on that way, a back and forth between you and this older man who acted half his own age. You never could figure out what it was about him that drew you in. At first you pinned it to the fact that he was so well built and shaped, that perhaps you were just attracted to his physical form. Later you decided that that couldn’t be it. Not that you were shallow, but he was as old as your father. 

Then perhaps it was the way he was? His mannerisms, the way he spoke, the things he said? Despite his age he was quite the quick-witted, spry figure, that just had to have something to do with it. 

Perhaps it didn’t matter how. Somehow you had the feeling no matter how you met it would end up this way, just like it did for the first time at the Gala. Your drunkenness had led to some forwardness of your own, which resulted in one long, hot night in a dark room far away from the party. That was one experience you had taken to filing away as quite the success. 

Jack was the first one to make you feel that way, and he remained to be the only one. 

But at the time you didn’t actually know it was Jack.

Looking back on it now you found it kind of funny. All that banter and the sweaty result never led to any introductions. It was only after you’d re-clothed yourselves did you feel the need to exchange names. 

The surprised that the both of you felt was striking. You had no idea he was Handsome Jack, the host of the party and most powerful dictator in the galaxy, while he didn’t know you were the Granddaughter of the President of Dahl, his most valued ally. Saying you were shocked was an understatement, and you booked it, leaving the room in such a hurry that you forgot to take your shoes with you, as you had not yet been fully dressed. 

You shook your head, realizing that the whole ordeal was similar to and may as well have been the tale about the girl who’d left her shoe at a party and lived happily ever after. You couldn’t recall the events of it all that well, but something told you your version had a few differences. Perhaps it was that Jack wasn’t a prince, or that you weren’t a servant girl. 

All you knew was that the shoes were important.

They were, after all, what brought you back to him. 

Days after shagging the guy your Grandfather spent years warning you against, he called. How he knew how to contact you you had no idea, as he made it clear he didn’t know you were Julian’s family and even clearer he knew to keep your fraternization a secret. Although, he _was_ Handsome Jack. He had his ways. 

You went back to get the shoes but stayed for him. Another incredible night passed by, and you couldn’t leave again.

Sighing, you turned around in your bed, trying to regain comfort so as to finally fall asleep. No such luck, you had too much on your mind. Between Jack and your Grandfather and the merge, your head was too busy. Sometimes you wished your involvement with the President of Hyperion stretched farther than a physical relationship. It was nights like this you had the urge to crawl into his arms and tell him your fears and worries while he stroked your hair and whispered to you that things would be okay.

But alas, Jack was no such candidate. He didn’t care much for sentiments, and for that you had to hold yourself off from picking up your Echo and dialing his number. 

Here goes another long night, one without the strapping executive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well what do you know, a whole year of hiatus and this thing finally gets a second chapter. Lets get this party started


	3. When you can't do what you want

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans never work out

When you woke up in the morning you’d been disturbed from a strange dream. This dream, one that had your skin coated in a cold sweat, was about your grandfather acquiring in sudden knowledge of your relationship with Handsome Jack. Bearing down his disappointment on you, he banished you from the family, all while your father simply stood by and watched as you pleaded for forgiveness. 

Your first urge was to call the man that was the root of your fear and make sure things hadn’t change, but you had to refrain, reminding yourself that the nature of his care didn’t reach these lengths. Your second urge was to call your father, to ask him if he ever would take Julian’s side should a hypothetical situation such as this happen, but again, refrained. It was too early in the morning for interrogating your dad about something that would likely never happen. 

But you could never be sure. You loved your father, and you knew he cherished you even more than your grandfather did, but sometimes you wondered if his protectiveness was due to the fact that he was your parent, or because he wanted to keep you from stepping into Julian’s shoes.

If there ever _was_ a situation in which your grandfather banished you from your family, your father taking his side would be the only choice that made sense. It was the best possible outcome, for should such a thing happen, then Lathan could stand by Julian’s side and make sure you never came back.

All because he didn’t ever want to see you become the President of Dahl within any of the years that he lived. 

Julian liked to pretend that he could live forever, and if life was based off of the livelihood of the mind, he could. But since his brittle bones and faulty heart told him otherwise, he decided that his role in Dahl Industries needed a successor, an heir for the day he shuffled off this mortal coil and left his beloved company to someone he trusted to carry on his legacy.

You never really understood why your father never remained the unopposed candidate. He was, after all, his eldest and only child, and one damn good VP, but Julian never let his sights befall him long enough to consider the option. There was, however, a time where he almost passed everything on to him, one weak day that he was having doubts about his decisions for the company, but by that time you had been conceived. 

If your father never came around to tell him that he was having a grandchild, everything would have been passed down to him that day. 

Instead, despite not knowing the sex of the child and knowing even less the likelihood of its survival and health, he decided then and there that Dahl Industries would belong to you one day, a two-week-old fetus in the womb of a woman your father thought would love him forever.

Lathan didn’t want this, he opposed it to no end. 

Many times he told you that he couldn’t let you assume the role of President, that you just couldn’t go down the path your grandfather went. You never knew what he meant by that, but after a lifetime of him whispering it into your ear, your own opposition of the idea came around. And it was only after you got old enough to understand how the company worked, having been hired to slowly begin your training, did you begin question why your father was so pitted against Julian’s decision. 

You loved your father, you really did, but after a lifetime of being told what you should and shouldn’t do without much rational reason, queries of the mildly treasonous kind wound their way into your thoughts and gripped you. You didn’t want to be thinking the way you did, but a part of you wondered if this ‘path that your grandfather went down’ really existed and was instead your father’s wish to take you out of the picture so he, himself, could take the role you were supposed to.

You hated yourself for thinking that way, but you didn’t exactly have much of a choice. Lathan never gave much others, what with his reasoning to everything having been ‘not to go down your grandfather’s path.’ 

Wiping the sweat from your brow you lie back down on your bed, staring into the ceiling for a while. Not much time passed before you heard you Echo go off on the nightstand beside you. It wasn’t a call, but a voice message, from Handsome Jack. 

“Morning kitten, hope you’re up bright and early to hear my gorgeous voice and make your day, but I won’t be able to see you for a while. This whole merge ordeal with Maliwan and Julian has got me tied up, so I’m sorry to say that imma have to go a few more days without that sweet ass of yours again.”

The message ended with his voice muffled by what you could only assume to be food, offering some goodbye you couldn’t understand before the sound cut off. A typical message from Jack, possibly the only kind you ever got from him as he didn’t like sending them or even talking over the phone much. No, Jack preferred face-to-face encounters, so unless he absolutely couldn’t help it, the only thing he wanted when it came to talking was the event in which there wasn’t even much talking involved in the first place. He must have been more busy than he expressed, to let it come to this.

As ever, this was something you were used to, having been with him for quite some time now and understanding how his brain worked.

Well. Mostly. 

As far as you figured nobody in all of Pandora or the galaxy surrounding it quite knew what went on in Handsome Jack’s head.

Turning over you pulled the covers over your head, wanting nothing more than to fall back asleep and dream something more pleasant, but you knew you couldn’t. No, you had far more pressing matters to attend to.

You had to do some digging. 

Getting out of bed may have been a chore but picking out clothes was an even bigger one. And this wasn’t even the trivial “female problem” of the inability to choose anything due to some chromosomal dysfunction(although it must have had something to do with it), no, this was because your inability stemmed from having a terrible sense of fashion.

It was one of the reasons your father hired a consultant for the night you and Jack met, because he knew you wouldn’t be able to dress yourself for shit even if you tried. 

Pausing at your thought, something hit you. 

You had a fitting scheduled today, one meant for the celebration Dahl was holding next week, one that, according to your father, you just couldn’t miss. 

Cursing some gibberish to yourself you let out a long groan and flopped back on the bed. Fittings always took forever. It didn’t matter what it was for or even what you were being fit into, you would not leave until the wee hours of night. For some reason these sorts of things had the need to take up an entire day, even others if the fitters deemed they needed more time to finish everything, all with you present for the entire time.

You hated fittings, but right now you hated nothing more than this specific one. All because your hope for discreet meddling today would be shot with no time on your hands. At any other point you could have just planned it for another day, but time was running short with the plans for the merge and you had the entire week booked. This was the time you wanted to take for it, and damn anything or anybody that stood in the way of your focus. 

Reaching for your Echo device still on your nightstand, you punched your father’s number and let it ring for a second. 

A second was all it took for him to pick up. “Darling, good morning! You on your way to the fitting yet?” 

He sounded groggy, as if your call had disturbed him from sleep. For a moment that made you feel guilty. 

“No, not yet.” You said, faking a cough. “I think I’m coming down with something, and I just wanted to let you know that I probably won’t be able to make it.”

“What? But you have to be there, this is the only time I was able to schedule an appointment. The celebration’s next week and you need to look your best.”

“But dad you say that every time there’s a party. Why can’t I just wear something from previous celebrations?”

“Because you already wore them. I can’t have you prancing around in clothing that have before been presented to the world.”

“But why? It’s not like anybody will remember the red dress I wore to Grandpa’s birthday bash last year. Or even that yellow one from the holiday party a few months ago. And I wore both only once! They were expensive dresses; don’t you think they deserve to go out at least more than once?”

Lathan chuckled. “Oh, my dear, you still have a lot to learn about the business world. And no, I won’t have you wearing that old stuff. You need something new, something fresh, something that will just scream that you’re an important person.”

“Last time I checked, clothing doesn’t make you into something that you’re not.”

“Honey, don’t pretend you’re not important, because you are, you really, really are. And I want it to show at the celebration, so you have to go to that fitting.”

“Unless you want their entire staff to catch what I have,” You faked another cough. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

You heard your father grumble something on the other line. You were feeling incredibly guilty, but you just had to do this. You needed to get straight to your work and find out what it was about this whole merge business that had you feeling so unnerved. 

“Fine, fine, you just lie back down and start feeling better while I make some calls.” 

He sounded defeated, as if the whole world was poking him with a stick and he just lie there and took it. For a moment you wondered if you hadn’t actually woken him up with your call but that he had earlier attended to some business that had him sounded so beat. It was the only explanation you could think of, as it seemed improbable that something as simple as a missed dress fitting would make him seem so down in the dumps. 

But then again, knowing your father, he had always taken focus on little things like these. He was a simple man, so it would make sense that simple things meant the most to him.

“Okay then I’ll just—”

“Darling don’t hang up yet, let me do something real quick and I’ll get back to you.”

In a silent huff you sat back down on the bed, resigned. You were getting anxious about your plans to investigate, and if you weren’t so sure that Lathan had no idea of your intentions, you would’ve thought he was trying to stall you. 

There was a click on the other line, the telltale sound of the comm closing on his end. You sat in silence for a few minutes, then a few more, each making you more and more restless as you awaited the return of your father’s cheery voice. 

After a while, finally there were signs of progress. “Sweetheart? Still there?” Lathan said with a click of the line, sounding rejuvenated. “I made some calls and I fixed it.”

“Fixed? Fixed what?” You said, forgetting that you were supposed to be sounding sick.

“Why our little problem of course. Take some meds and put on a cold patch, the fitters are headed over to the house as we speak.”

You blinked. “The fitters…?” 

“Yup! Since you can’t make your way over there I figured ‘why not send them your way instead?’. You’d probably find it a lot more comfortable doing it somewhere where you’re familiar with anyways, which means it’ll be easier to please you when it comes to the dress. Anyways, I have some other things I have to attend to and I need to go. Try not to breath too much on the fitters, would you? They agreed to come because of the hefty pay but they won’t be happy if they get sick coming out of it. Have fun sweetheart, bye!”

And just like that the line was dead, leaving you staring rather lost at the echo. 

“Ah hell. Hell, hell, hell.” You said, tossing the device down onto your bed with a frown to your brow. “I really need to plan these damn schemes out better goddammit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowee, a few months since the last update huh? Man, if I'm not the most reliable person ever, lol. Anyways, long awaited, have a lame chapter with about a teaspoon of exposition. More on the way soon, hopefully.


End file.
